I had an immediate reaction when this Slashdot post about an “independent” study that resulted in Newham and Microsoft signing a 10 year deal for Microsoft providing IT support for the city of Newham. It really caught my attention when it was revealed that the study had been funded by Microsoft. It looks a whole lot like our practice in the United States of having pharmecutical companies doing all the drug research and then having the FDA approve or reject the drugs without the FDA having the power to publish the results of the studies the public cannot be confident that any impartial information has been disseminated. All we know is that there is a pretty good chance that the new drugs that get approved are not likely to cause widespread negative side-effects. It’s just further proof of the need for unbiased study as the root of any problem-solving endeavor such as I suggested for the education system. All this was on my mind because I heard an interview on NPR about giving impartial information to doctors so they could make their decisions based on more than glossy photos and free lunches.

Alan has a good point about the Irony of always leaning on the experts whenever we do things. I am one of the regular bloggers with little to no readership that Alan contrasts the experts against. One of the reasons that I blog is that I would like to get some ideas out in public and hear some feedback on those ideas. From what I have experienced the world or practice of blogging has the potential to “[break] down traditional power structures” but until it becomes more accepted in mainstream culture as a valuable resource for ideas and discourse there will still be very little voice for those of us “little guys” who are trying to find a voice through their blogs.

I found it interesting to see the results of the first comparison between charter schools and public schools which founds that the Education > Nation’s Charter Schools Lagging Behind, U.S. Test Scores Reveal” href=”http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/17/education/17charter.html?hp”>Nation’s Charter Schools Lagging Behind the public schools. I have nothing against charter schools and nothing against “No Child Left Behind.” The only thing I am interested in is improving our education system in the United States. I don’t know how to do that right now, but I have an idea of how to find out some answers. We need two very broad studies an our education system. One study should be a widespread inspection of those schools and districts which have consistently performed well above the national average. The study should take special note of those schools which have been performing above average which have the lowest budgets both overall and per student. The second study should be a study of students who have performed individually well above average again making sure to look closely at those from underpriveledged backgrounds. Neither of these studies should look at a particular aspect of the schools or the students. It should be a matter of gathering as much information as possible and trying to find some commonalities that might suggest the causes for their success. Then we could look at ways to foster in less successful schools and students any common traits found in in the successful schools and students. I would honestly be very surprised if I were the first person to think of this. Perhaps I am not reading the right sources to know who is doing this work already. If that is the case I would be very grateful if anyone could point me to the work of people who are doing this type of study.